Birds of Prey Issue 5
Synopsis "Monster" Black Canary finds herself running from the Lake Mackachitahoo Monster, which is destroying the pier below her. She dives underwater to get away from it, with it only turning away when the lodge clerk Gary and his Uncle Ole arrive and fire their rifles at it. The Black Canary thanks them for saving her, then tells Gary she'll want to speak to him about the other women around, who have rented a boat and gone on the lake, after she places a phone call. She makes a 4 am call to Oracle and tells her she's found the "Loch Ness Monster" in Minnesota. At another part of the lake, the Ravens—Cheshire, Pistolera, and Vicious—surface after having located the Soviet satellite. Kobra sent them to locate and find that their boat is missing and the lodge has been replaced by a volcano. In the Pentagon, Major Van Lewton's "CGI Joes" have tracked their Phantom Hacker through a variety of systems to the Gotham-Blüdhaven area. Van Lewton orders his second, Lieutenant Providence, to get ready as they're on their way to take down the hacker using funds juggled from a made up study. While Black Canary and Oracle discuss possibly looking in to the Monster, two men burst into Black Canary's cabin yelling her code name and firing guns. They attempt to confirm their kill, noting that "Prime doesn't like half-measures", but she out-maneuvers and subdues them both. Reconnecting with Oracle, she confirms that the men are working for Kobra and both ladies figure that they have to be in some way connected to the creature in the lake. Elsewhere, the confused Ravens discuss their situation, with Cheshire positing that the radiation she was picking up underwater was from neutrinos, until Vicious distracts her by pointing out a herd of mastodons. Oracle, unknowingly being watched, warns Black Canary that the lake she's chosen seems to have a recent history of Kobra activity and they must think she's there to expose them. She decides she may as well bust them while she's there, and asks Gary, who came to check up on her when he heard the gun shots, if she can rent scuba equipment and a boat, confirming to him that yes, she is "some kind" of superhero. Major Van Lewton and Lieutenant Providence are in a helicopter over Highway 61 awaiting confirmation on their target's location. Providence tries again to talk Van Lewton out of the hunt, but he refuses to back down saying that because of the hackers actions over the last few months, his department will be in serious trouble if it's ever audited. Cheshire tells the other Ravens that Neutrinos have "unique qualities" and that they've somehow gone back in time. Gary brings Black Canary an inflatable boat, asking if she's sure she wants to go out. He tells her again about the three pretty girls that went out on a rental boat, and as she heads out she describes the monster to Oracle who looks it up on her computer. Black Canary finds the Ravens' boat and, diving underwater, finds the Soviet satellite they were sent to look for connected to a winch. Oracle finds nothing about the Soviets losing a satellite over the Midwest and together they wonder why three "pretty ladies" would be interested in it. In the past, Cheshire explains to Vicious and Pistolera that Neutrinos are the most common thing in existence and theorized to hold the universe together—like the Force. She further explains that they may shape time and space, making Pistolera wonder if the high concentration of them around the satellite may have pushed them into a "time warp." In Gotham, Oracle hears a helicopter somewhere above her apartment. In the lake, Black Canary appears to be in trouble underwater. Appearances "Monster" Individuals *Birds of Prey **Black Canary **Oracle *Ravens **Cheshire **Pistolera **Vicious *Kobra Locations *Gotham City *Washington D.C Birds of Prey Issue 005 Birds of Prey Issue 05